Cafe World Challenge Week 47

I attended a Japanese cooking class last year and have used my notes from that class to make sushi. I'm not a fan of raw fish sushi and prefer eating rolled sushi ie. maki. I usually order the vegetarian option at restaurants, but I had leftover smoked salmon from making the Lox Bagel so I added that too.

SUSHI SPREAD

The term sushi actually refers to the rice which is mixed with rice vinegar. This rice can then be topped or rolled in various ways. My cooking instructor stressed the importance of properly cooked rice, so I followed her instructions:

Sushi rice

3 cups of sushi rice
4 cups of water
3 tbsp seasoned rice vinegar

Place rice in a medium sized saucepan. Remove excess starch from the rice by rinsing it 3 or 4 times. (Add cold water until the rice is covered, then drain water.)
Add the 4 cups of water to the rice and bring to a boil over high heat. Cover the saucepan and reduce the heat so that the rice continues to cook, without boiling over.
Cook for 15-20 minutes then turn off the heat.
The secret tip: Don't peek, do not remove the lid until the dish is ready to serve.
When ready, mix the rice vinegar into the rice.

Cover your sushi rolling mat with plastic, it keeps things clean and non-stick. I wanted to make inside-out rolls, with the rice on the outside, so I tried both methods. Method 1, was to lay the nori on the mat and then cover it with rice and then flip it over, the rice sticks pretty well to the rougher side of the nori. I also just spread rice onto the mat and then pressed the nori into it to cover. Both worked okay. A good tip was to keep a bowl of water at hand to dip your spatula or spoon into. This dislodges sticky rice and makes spreading easier.

I laid my smoked salmon in the centre of the nori parallel with the bamboo. If you did it the other way it wouldn't roll properly. I used avocado and fine carrot sticks in mine. Then just roll up tightly. Remember you don't want to enclose the mat so fold the mat over the fillings to form the roll. I then sprinkled mine with toasted sesame seeds and cut it into pieces. I served mine with soy sauce with a little wasabi mixed in.
Very delicious. Considering it was the first time I did this myself, I think it worked out pretty well.


                            

Progress: 81/86 (only 5 to go)

Next up: I didn't get time to make Unbirthday cake for my husband before he left, but will attempt it when he returns, which will be after his birthday. He's at sea for 3 weeks.

* Disclaimer: Image owned by Zynga. This site is not owned by Zynga. This site is not the owner of the intellectual property.

Cafe World Challenge Week 46

Blah, blah, blah.....

That's how I feel lately!! So sorry about being lazy about blogging. I've had one thing after another happen that has hampered my plans and my creative juices have run dry. Not that any of my mishaps have been in the creative realm of my being, but it impacts my general mood. In the grand scheme of things I suppose it hasn't been that bad.
I had my large, heavy wooden fireplace mantle fall on my toes and cause severe pain and limited motion for a week. Then my husband goes away for a week and I get to deal with crazy little boys all on my own. Then of course it's that time again when talk shifts to possibly moving again. UGH!!! So my mind goes crazy. Then I get rear-ended and then have to deal with all the admin involved with a collision and insurance and car repair. So a few days got completely swallowed up with that. Now I have my husband home, but he's off again for 2.5 weeks. Aside from the stress of trying to find a job, but then if we're moving why am I bothering?

Enough of my rant!!! Thanks for listening. I needed to just hammer out my frustration on the keyboard, you were spared the worst of it, the delete key was used extensively.

So with just myself and the little guys to feed I haven't been cooking anything reportable....but managed to squeeze in a Cafe World dish. Lox Bagel. My 5 year old loves smoked salmon so he was very happy.

LOX BAGEL

This was an easy one. I bought "everything" bagels and spread them with my favourite whipped chive cream cheese, topped with salmon and thin slices of red onion. Pop open a bag of potato chips and Voila!!!

Next Up: I'm making Sushi...finally and since my hubbie will be away for his birthday, I'll make the Unbirthday Cake before he leaves.

Progress: 80/86 (nearly there..I haven't added any of the new dishes, since I haven't been playing to unlock any of them)

* Disclaimer: Image owned by Zynga. This site is not owned by Zynga. This site is not the owner of the intellectual property.

Cafe World Challenge Week 24

I was pretty lazy this week and only made the one Cafe World dish and I cheated on that one too by using convenient ready made ingredients.



Fiery Fish Tacos

When my husband heard I was making fish tacos he wasn't happy...."Tacos have meat, meat or wait for it, meat." So whatever!!! My kids also whined a little when they heard the word fish. They haven't liked fish for a few weeks now and will only eat certain breaded box fish like fish sticks or my eldest loves smoked salmon. This doesn't stop me from making fish, as they can suck it up, eat one bite and focus on their veggies. The Cafe World version has seared tuna, but I figured I wouldn't fork out the cash for tuna steaks if it'll go to waste. So I made a compromise and used the boxed Tempura battered Haddock which my youngest actually likes. I saw many versions of fish tacos online and the idea of using coleslaw appealed to me, plus my kids will eat it if they don't like the rest. So I also cheated there and bought some coleslaw from the deli section. I also used avocado as a treat for myself. I LOVE Avos. So my version (cheats and all) looks like this:

Recipe

1 package Taco shells - for convenience I love the Stand and Stuff variety (Genius!!!)
1 package of favourite frozen fish
Chili powder to taste
Avocado
Creamy coleslaw from deli (or homemade)
Salsa (hotter if you want it fiery fish tacos)

Sprinkle some chili powder on fish, if desired. Cook the fish according to package instructions. Cut into bite-size pieces.
Cut Avos into little cubes.
To serve: spoon coleslaw into warmed taco shell and top with fish, avo and salsa.
Enjoy!!!!



Up Next: No idea...check back next Foodie Friday.

Progress: 47/76

Disclaimer: Image owned by Zynga. This site is not owned by Zynga. This site is not the owner of the intellectual property

Cafe World Challenge Week 17

I had a more productive week, finishing 3 more dishes. I would have done four, but had a last minute visitor the night I wanted to do lobster, so I will try and do it this weekend.
I think I must give my hubbie some royal treatment with lobster, before he attends the Official Dinner with The Queen on Monday, he's among the group of servicemen (and women) being honoured for their service in Afghanistan. I'm very proud of my Navy man.

Happy Canada Day to all my Canadian readers...hope you all had a fun and relaxing day yesterday. To my friends south of the border, Happy Independence Day also.












Herbed Halibut

Lets start by saying that wow, Halibut is expensive. I haven't bought any in a while and forked out $31 for the two pieces. So this recipe would work with any fish. I actually used a similar technique in this previous post. I love making fish in a foil package in the oven. You're basically steaming the fish and you can add all sorts of lovely flavours. It's healthy too, as you're not frying or breading.

Recipe

2 large halibut or other fish fillets
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 tbsp white wine
3 tbsp chopped fresh herbs (I used parsley, chive and dill)
1 clove garlic, chopped
salt and pepper to taste
1 lemon, sliced

Preheat oven to 180C/ 350F
Brush fish with the olive oil.
Put the fish on a sheet of aluminum foil.
Cover fillets with remaining ingredients and surround with lemon slices.
Fold over foil and seal to form a parcel. Bake until fish is no longer glossy and flakes easily.



Falafel

For those who haven't had this before, it is a Middle Eastern fried ball made from ground chickpeas.

I've made them often, but found a dry "falafel mix" which you just add water to and fry, it was really easy. The falafels batter recipes I've used before are often too liquid and didn't work well. So I experimented a little and came up with a recipe that seems to work.

I like serving mine in a wholewheat pita bread with hummus or tahini and sometimes add tabbouleh. I mentioned my problems with salsa in my last post, well I have the same issue with hummus. I had 3 half used containers in my fridge and just loaded my pita with hummus and falafel, I know a chickpea overload, but a delicious one.

Recipe

540 ml (19oz) can of chickpeas, drained
1 onion chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1/3 cup bread crumbs
1 egg beaten
2 tbsp fresh coriander
2 tbsp fresh parsley
1 pinch cumin
1/2 tsp baking powder
salt and pepper to taste.

Combine all ingredients in a blender.
Shape into small balls. Deep-fry for about 3 minutes or brush with olive oil and bake at 350F/180C for 15 minutes.

I used both cooking methods in my experiment, in the photo below you can see that the upper falafel were fried and the lower ones were baked. I'm not a fan of excess oiliness, so I preferred the baked version, but traditionally they are fried.








Chocolate Cream Pie

I admit, the above heading should be in air quotes. The version I made didn't have real cream or possibly even real chocolate (you never know). I completely buckled to consumerism and made Cool Whip Pudding Pie.
I re-organized my baking supplies and had a box of Oreo crumbs make its way to the front and this recipe is on the box staring at me every time I open the cupboard. So what the hell, its close isn't it? For now I'll count it, I might make a real version at another time and I'll post the pic. For what its worth, it was okay, but not as good as the real thing.



Up next: I'm hoping I can finally get my lobster done

Progress: 35/70, halfway, for now at least.

Disclaimer: Image owned by Zynga. This site is not owned by Zynga. This site is not the owner of the intellectual property

Cafe World Challenge Week 5

This week I made 3 dishes and chose two specifically to use my new little toy, a beautiful wooden mortar & pestle.









Macaroni & Cheese

Believe it or not, I have a 4 year old that hates mac & cheese, so I decided I had to add things he liked to maybe disguise the fact that it was mac & cheese. It didn't work so well, he just picked out what he liked and ate those separately. He usually has garlic bread with his pasta at preschool, so he was not happy to have his "garlic bread" ie croutons on his pasta and thought I was ridiculous for cutting it up so small. I have to admit that life with the boys is never dull. At least my little guy is like a human garborator and eats whatever is placed in front of him and then scavenges off our plates too.

I used this Knorr recipe for Bacon Parmasan Mac and Cheese, I had the recipe card in my recipe scrapbook. I only made one change, I couldn't find the Parmasan Basil seasoning, so I used another variety of Parmasan herb seasoning. Good comfort food.



Rackosaurus Ribs

We didn't go on any Dinosaur hunting expedition to get this meal, but my son James, who is dino-obssessed, did pretend he was a Velociraptor and he was eating a Stegosaurus. But after a few bites, he reckoned he preferred to be a plant eating Triceratops and focused on his mashed potato and salad.

I used another recipe card in my scrapbook and produced Rubbed Barbequed Baby Back Pork Ribs , except mine were done in the oven. I found this recipe as well as the next one on recipe cards in The Wine Rack, found in my local store. I went to the website printed on the card and found the blog with the recipes, what a great resource.

I chose this recipe so I could use my mortar & pestle and because my hubbie likes spicy foods. But be warned, it is spicy, so go slow on the chilli powder if you don't like spicy food. I would also warn those that don't like much salt, like us, to reduce the amount of salt used. It might not have been so salty if it was done on the barbeque???



Fish and Chips

I couldn't resist doing this recipe....Cedar Planked Pine Nut Coated Tilapia, which is in the same link as the ribs above. I got to use my mortar & pestle again and I used cedar grill planks for the 1st time. I learnt my lesson and reduced the salt. I really liked this one. Once again I used my oven instead, we don't own a barbeque...don't ask???
I know that the Cafe World version is the traditional battered and fried fish, but this is the gourmet version. So I'm counting it.

The fish was suculent, the coating was tasty and I liked the mild smoky cedar flavour.



Progress: 12/59

Next up: Something sweet....Triple Berry Cheesecake and one of the Oriental dishes.

* Disclaimer: Image owned by Zynga. This site is not owned by Zynga. This site is not the owner of the intellectual property.

From the Sea

This last week I made two meals with seafood. Firstly clams on the weekend and steamed fish last night.

Clam Pilaf

An easy one pot meal, using the ingredients I had in stock.

2 cans clams
1 medium onion
Tomatoes, I used 3 plum tomatoes, so 1 1/2 cups
1 cup raw rice
2 tbsp butter (or marg)
2 tbsp olive (or other) oil
about 1/2 tsp dried oreganum


1. Melt the butter and add oil and heat.
2. Add onion and saute until golden.
3. Add the clams, clam liquid/water, rice, chopped tomatoes and oreganum and simmer, covered, until rice is tender, about 30 minutes.
4. Season to taste and serve. (Note I didn't add salt as the clam juice is already salty)

Steamed Fish



I went to the market and picked up fresh haddock and a bunch of lemons and limes, so this was what I came up with:

fish fillets
lemons & limes
bay leaves
chilli
salt
olive oil
parsley

I lined a baking dish in aluminum foil and placed sliced limes, lemons, a few bay leaves and sliced red chilli as a "cushion" for the fish. I laid the fish on top and added a dash of salt and olive oil. I then placed more lemon and limes slices on top with some more chilli and a sprinkling of fresh parsley (from my garden).

I made two fillets and and didn't add the chiili to the one, so it was kid-friendly.

I then made an aluminum foil tent over the fish and pinched the sides to keep the steam inside. I then put the fish in the oven (I used the Broil/grill setting) and cooked it until the fish was opaque white and flaky. The steam method keeps the fish nice and moist and infuses it with flavour.